Wednesday

Meditation opens seldom glimpsed areas of our subconscious. When that happens, extraordinary thoughts and awareness comes to us with seeming spontaneity. We realize truths that were opaque to use before; we perceive events that were previously too distant. But no one ever became superhuman because of meditation. They only opened their own latent potential. Everything is locked inside of us and need only be opened. That is why it is said that heaven is within us.

In the same way, the pains and the struggles of the past sometimes haunt us with astounding vehemence. Problems and conflicts are difficult to exorcise. Although we may practice spirituality and move on to new endeavors and relationships, past hurts still come back in our memories and dreams. These are not demons from another world, nor are they karmic manifestations of previous lives; they are scars in our subconscious. No matter how diligently we try to make progress, there still are pains that curse us day after day. This is why it is said that hell is within us.

We ourselves are the battleground for good and evil. There is no need to look beyond our world. Everything to be understood is within us. all that must be transcended—the pains and scars of the past—is within us. all the power of transcendence is also within us. Tap into it and you tap into the divine itself.

Splendors of China’s Forbidden City is devoted to the long reign of Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795). The exhibition concentrates on Qianlong’s 18th-century period, the last grand era of the Chinese empire. During his long reign, Emperor Qianlong became the epitome of a great Chinese ruler, at once all-powerful and civilized. The Chinese empire reached its largest geographic spread under his rule, while life in China was both peaceful and prosperous. The exhibition investigates how Qianlong achieved this magnificent level. Politically adept, he recognized and supported all facets of Chinese civilization. Although he was a Manchu and remained proud of his nomad forebears, he cultivated the Han Chinese, who formed the majority of the Chinese people. Like his predecessors, the Kangxi and Yongzheng emperors, Qianlong carried out a balancing act between his Manchu heritage and the culture of Han China, which the Manchu Qing dynasty had conquered.

The level of artistic production and craftsmanship at his court was magnificent, enabling visitors to the exhibition to see a summary of Chinese imperial art production at its peak. Qianlong himself was one of China’s great art collectors and the works from the Palace Museum give a vivid sense of court life in 18th-century China and of Qianlong’s personal tastes, including his religious interests. While personally a practicing Tibetan Buddhist, he was able to keep a balance among the various religions and philosophic traditions of China. Even Christianity and Islam were allowed. By patronizing all these religious interests he was able to symbolize, in himself, the complex history of Chinese civilization. The exhibition celebrates Qianlong as a rich, multi-faceted person, who could save the best of the Chinese past and work creatively with the demands of empire. He was at home on imperial tours of inspection, on the hunting field and in the palace. He was also a poet, a collector and a connoisseur: a man well-fitted to use his role as emperor in the most effective way.

T A O t e C H I N G

n i n e

Fill a cup to its brim and it is easily spilled;
Temper a sword to its hardest and it is easily broken;
Amass the greatest treasure and it is easily stolen;
Claim credit and honour and you easily fall;
Retire once your purpose is achieved - this is natural.